Don't Be Scared
by smilelaughread
Summary: Hermione reads her children a story before bed. Written for the One Line Competition - 2 on HPFC.


"The locked doors puzzled and intrigued her," Hermione said, hiding a smile behind her overly theatrical words. She suspected that the up-until-that-moment harmless story was about to get a fair bit worse. Her voice lowered to a chilling whisper, she continued. "She didn't know which to choose, and the clock was ticking. An all-encompassing fear washed through her as she heard the footsteps get louder and clearer. They were almost onto her - the pair of ghastly beasts. She had to choose one of the doors, else she'd have to face the monster and all it brought with it. With little more than a thought - her mind reaching out to pull at the lock and push at the doors - she decided to open both. White light spilled out from one door and a terrifying darkness loomed from within the other. She had to choose, quickly. Surprised as she was by her apparent ability to use magic in such a dark, harrowing place, she tried to make up her mind."

She spared a glance up from the pages to her children, who were looking at each other in fright. This had been their choice of literature for the evening, though; Hermione was determined to see it through.

"The white light looked safe - safer than the bone-chilling emptiness of the black or the danger of these dungeons - but she knew - or thought she knew - in her heart that it was going to betray her, this light. It would show the foul beasts exactly where she was. Throwing all caution to the wind, she stepped over the threshold and into the void. Immediately she was disoriented; unable to hear, see, or feel. A dreadful feeling began to brew in the pit of her stomach, a sudden understanding."

It had been chosen by the children in a muggle bookstore. After much pleading, she'd finally agreed to purchase it. Despite being wholly muggle, she had the strangest feeling that it was more insightful than not - in terms of Wizarding History and the whole Dark Lord(s) issue.

"She hadn't been meant to pick either of the offered doors; it had been a test to see if she really was as brave as they all said. She wasn't, obviously not. She had been meant to stay behind and try to face the beasts. That creatures of darkness hadn't seemed friendly upon first glance, but she realised as the door - from which she could somehow sense the cold dampness of the dungeons - swung closed, that she should have been brave, brave enough to face her demons head on."

Hermione wondered wether it was wise to continue, after skimming the short bit left, but decided to.

"Now she faced the consequences, locked in this black space that was beginning to seep into her, bit by bit. She fought against it, but couldn't stop the damage from being done. As her life and will drained out of her, bit by bit, she faded. As her mind slowed, bit by bit, she stopped feeling regret or guilt - having left her partner back in the labyrinth of corridors to face the terror alone. As her humanity seeped out of her, bit by bit, she forgot the simple pleasures of life. As her memories faded, bit by bit," now, Hermione was speaking slowly, watching for reactions. "She forgot that she'd ever had a choice. She slowly began believing that it had been her intention all along. As her power increased, bit by bit, she stopped feeling in control and fell slave to the horrible, intrusive darkness. And she liked it."

There were a few more words, but Hermione gathered that it had been quite enough. "The end," she said

Closing the book with a sharp snap, she let out a sigh. Unsure of what to do, she went with nonchalance. "Well then, dears, let's get you two all dressed up for bed. It's quite late, and tomorrow is a big day."

They were very clearly shaken and Hermione felt her motherly instincts go absolutely haywire. Instead of letting them face the consequences of a poor decision, as she'd planned - it was good for children (though they were both older than ten, and no longer strictly speaking children) to learn to face the repercussions of their actions - she knelt down next to Rose. Hugo stopped in his tracks and quickly turned around. Before she could so much as blink, they had rushed into her arms and were breathing raggedly against her neck; short staccato bursts of air that promised tears and hysteria.

"Mum," Rose whispered, sounding more frightened than Hermione had ever intended to make her. "Mum, I'm scared."

She nodded and rubbed reassuring circles into the young girl's back, letting reassuring sounds and words flow from her lips. Hugo was silent, but he was out of sorts as well, given by how tightly he was gripping her.

"Darling, don't give that story a second thought." Upon giving her own statement a second thought, Hermione continued. She pulled away from them in order to look them in the eyes. "That poor girl was sucked into the darkness because she couldn't trust herself enough to face the beast. If she'd had a bit more willpower or bravery, she would have been fine. The darkness was inviting, and seemed to promise many things. She found out, obviously, that she had been mistaken in trusting it. The darkness does that - fools people. It is not something to be played with or joked about. It's true - it seeps into you and makes you do things so terrible that-" She broke off, memories of the war flooding back to her. She hadn't yet filled her children in on the horrors she'd lived through, and wasn't planning on doing so just yet. Or ever, really.

They looked at her, all wide-eyed innocence, and she had to pull them in tightly once again. It was hard trying to remind herself that those times were over, and she used their warmth and touch to reassure her.

"Love. Love and trust is all that one needs to keep from the temptation of the dark. The world was once a horrible place, full of pain and sorrow. It is over because of love. Love is greater than any beast, any problem, any offer that seems irresistible but you know is not good. I promise you, if you remember that, everything will be alright."

She believed that, truly did. It_ was_ what had brought the end of the war - love of friends, family, and schoolmates working together against a common enemy, giving them strength to continue and the ability to maintain hope.

"I love you, Rose. I love you, Hugo."

"We love you, too," their whispers were soft but the sentiment behind them was stronger than anything she had ever faced in her life.

She let out a sniffle, pulling them even closer. They stood like that for a long time, just waiting for something indeterminable. When Ron came up to see where Hermione had gotten caught up - she'd gone upstairs to put the children to sleep a long hour ago - he saw the heartfelt embrace and joined in.

There they stood in an immovable, sturdy, unbreakable ring of love.

* * *

**This was written for the The One Line Competition 2 by WeasleySeeker with the first sentence being: _"The locked door fascinated and puzzled her."_ **

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